Monday

... on the road again ... or would that be still.  After a lovely Christmas Day spent between Latimers and Kyogle, we are now off to the Central Coast to deliver S's Mum home.  It was a brilliant day for travelling - not too hot, not too cold, not raining, not too sunny - and most of the traffic coming the other way and there was lots of it.  We set out just after 7 this morning - we couldn't make too early a start because the kangaroos are still on the move and likely to be on the roads if you set out too early. And they certainly were about - there was only one we found road-side - just sitting there waiting for us to pass - we hoped.  S spotted it first and warned me to watch out for it.  The others we passed were safely behind fences and far enough away that we weren't at all concerned that they would be in danger of colliding with the car.  

I had forgotten what it was like to be out on the wide open road with hours of driving in front of you.  The good thing about travelling at this time of year is that there are "Driver Reviver" spots - where you can call in for a free cup of tea or coffee, maybe a biscuit or two, and sometimes even some "Fisherman's Friend".  It is a wonderful service provided by local volunteers and the stops are always friendly, clean and at the right spots along the highway.

We were lucky enough not to strike any accidents along the way although we found out that there had been a major one at Coffs Harbour at some point after we came through which had closed the highway for a couple of hours.  We weren't able to find out if anyone had been hurt, and hopefully they weren't because everyone should be able to go home after the holidays.  

The road has improved so much since last we came this way - although admittedly at that stage we were going the other way - when I drove the car up when we moved to Latimers (S and Emma flew because we didn't want Emma to spend hours in the car).  There is now dual-carriage way for more than half the way - in fact, probably even more than that.  And so good is the new road that there are huge portions that have a posted speed limit of 110 kph.  

We were stopped by the police only once along the way - for a alcohol breath test at Grafton - before 9 in the morning - and, not surprisingly, we passed with flying colors.

Lars pulled into S's Mum's driveway just after 5 in the afternoon - so the trip down (including shopping for dinner on the way home - because I wasn't sure I'd feel like driving again today) took about 10 hours.  Not bad.